Lucky Break (Lucky 3)

Women and their damn loyalty to each other, he thought, and then her words registered. “What do you mean hurt her? Her grandmother sent her away. End of story.”

And the tough guy he’d thought he was had hurt more than he’d wanted to admit. He’d thrown himself into his Olympic dreams with everything he had, so he wouldn’t have to think or feel.

Sharon waved her hands in front of her. “Oh, no. It’s not my story to tell,” she said.

A chill shook Jason to his core. “Fine.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means I’ll find out myself.” Because seeing Lauren again had given him a lift he hadn’t felt in a long time.

She had done that for him. Not even his family had been able to shake his depression and sense of loss over his career. If there was something more to her departure all those years ago, he wanted to know. He also wanted to see her again.

“Fine. I’ll grab the jacket and let’s get out of here.”

They walked back to the festival in silence. Sharon no doubt was consumed with concern for her friend, while Jason was consumed with thoughts of the same person, but for very different reasons.

Suddenly he heard their names being called and Derek and Gabrielle and Amber, his cousin Mike’s wife, descended.

“There you are!” Gabrielle said, pulling her husband along with her. “I’ve been looking for you!”

“And I told you he was perfectly fine,” Derek muttered. He sent Jason an apologetic glance. “Sorry. She forgets you’re a grown man.”

Gabrielle frowned, realizing she might have overstepped her bounds. “I just wanted to make sure you hadn’t gone home early to sit around and watch TV when you could still be with us having fun.?

?

“And we definitely didn’t want you to be all alone,” Amber said, backing up Gabrielle.

“He wasn’t alone,” Clara objected, joining the circle.

“What do you mean he wasn’t alone?” Amber and Gabrielle asked in unison.

Jason rolled his eyes. This was the way of things every time his family got together. Good-natured meddling. “How would you know I wasn’t alone?” he asked Clara.

“It was a hunch. But thank you for confirming it,” she said, smiling. “I’m glad to know my reading was correct.” She folded her arms across her chest, pleased with herself.

Jason groaned. “Why aren’t you in the booth I spent hours constructing?”

“Because I needed a break,” she explained. “I had a lineup for the last few hours.”

“Well, I’m happy for you,” he muttered.

“Who is she?” Gabrielle asked. “Who were you with?”

“What was the prediction?” Amber added.

Derek grabbed his wife’s arm and started to pull her away. “We’re leaving,” he promised Jason. “And Amber’s coming with us.”

“Not until we hear everything!” the women said in unison.

Jason gritted his teeth.

Beside him, Sharon remained silent. Of all the women, she was the most discreet.

“Sharon?” Gabrielle asked her best friend. “Did you happen to see?”

Jason sighed, resigned to his fate. “Go on,” he said to Sharon. “Tell them.”